Yeah yeah, we know, 1950s design this, midcentury that. Try as you might you can’t avoid it. However, there’s no question that things just tended to look pretty slick back then and it’s testament to this golden era that much of what came out of the decade has stood the test of time. These Porsche posters are a classic example, listen up advertisers, this is how its done. More at Retronaut.

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Boozers of the bean may not need to be reminded of their coffee intake as strongly as the folks at C5 would like you to, but the idea is an interesting one. Their new 18×24 poster work, “In Caffeine We Trust” outlines a month’s worth of days to fill in and track coffee as it enters and feeds you. “The included set of instructions outline a few calculations to analyze personal consumption trends.” A nice gift, but I not need be reminded… Find it online at C5.

More looks after the click.

CR Blog introduces us to these stylish posters used to advertise the merits of London Transport. 20 designs from the 1930s and earlier will be on show at the ‘Painting by numbers – making sense of statistics’ exhibition at the London Transport Museum in January. Concerned with promoting the service as well as explaining the cost of providing it (as CR points out ‘no doubt passengers in 1938 were just as upset at fare increases as they are today’), they’re a incredible example of commuter communication at its best.

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Not happy creating incredible structures for the like of the Guggenheim Bilbao and The Vitra Museum, L.A architectural legend Frank Gehry has set about designing the poster for the 54th annual Grammy awards.

Architectural models surround the golden gramophone with the image appearing on all related media products. Gehry explains, “I have been fortunate to have worked with and become friends with some of the top musicians in classical music… they are my inspiration and my heroes. I am pleased to work with the grammys to help celebrate all of these talented people.” (designboom)

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If you’ve recently laid your Athena Tennis Girl poster to rest, or your pulp fiction has gradually faded to nothing then perhaps you’re considering some new wall decoration. Hammerpress, established in 1994 by Brady Vest, is a Kansas based design studio who make some rather nice letterpress posters. Western inspired illustrations alongside some impressive band prints, pay them a visit here.

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A look at the official Olympic posters designed by some of the big names on the brit art scene. Since 1912 each host town has commissioned its finest to produce artwork for the event including Warhol, Hockney, Lichtenstein and Albers. In this case 100 artists were whittled down to 12 and include the likes of Tracey Emin, Chris Ofili, Sarah Morris and Gary Hume. Asked to respond to London’s unique vision of the games the results are as varied and colourful as you’d expect. More over at Phaidon.

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Creative Review point us towards Eye Sea, retailers of amazing vintage film posters. Their website is heavy with Polish stock, these designs from the 60s and 70s have garnered a cult following over the years. The communist government of the period controlled the film industry and recruited respected artists who were given complete creative freedom and as a consequence chose to ignore the movie’s stars and go mad with their designs. CR blog have a short interview with the guys behind the shop, visit the store for more.

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This book won’t release until October. Still, my own excitement keeps me from holding off on a post until a firm date is revealed. Edited by Jay Satterfield, Winter Carnival: A Century of Dartmouth Posters simply celebrates a century of graphic design related to the College’s famed seasonal bash.

Words from the publisher, University of New England Press -

Avidly collected and fetching high prices at auction, the Dartmouth Winter Carnival poster is a treasured and tangible artifact of one of the College’s most cherished traditions. Here, presented for the first time, is Dartmouth College Library’s definitive collection of Winter Carnival posters from 1911 to 2010, celebrating Dartmouth’s seasonal bacchanal, sports fest, and social daze. In addition to their merit as markers of changing taste in graphic arts, the posters offer a fascinating glimpse into a century of intense cultural and institutional development. As a sustained collection the posters are nearly unrivaled, to the envy of ephemera collectors. Everything is here, from the high-end, design-informed style of the early years to the pop-culture and annual-theme inspired posters of more recent years. A constant element is the effervescence of those Dartmouth days, tinged with the glow of nostalgia: youth, energy, sex, sports, camaraderie, and dragons.

This colorful and memory-evoking volume also includes a catalogue raisonné giving poster dimensions, artists’ names, and other relevant information; charming artistic ephemera (dance cards and programs) from the missing (posterless?) years of 1912 to 1934; and rare photos of the poster selection process. In addition, the book includes an illustrated essay retelling the story of Budd Schulberg and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s notorious trip to Winter Carnival; an essay about the art of the posters by noted graphic arts scholar Steven Heller; and a poignant piece by alumna and cultural observer Gina Barreca (class of ’79) remembering the posters and the Winter Carnival experience from a student’s point of view. This is a wonderful book for alumni, collectors of posters and ski posters, and anyone who has ever been touched by the magic of Winter Carnival.

Available for pre-order from Amazon.

The above is a clip for “Reach for the Sky” from Carbon/Silicon’s The Carbon Bubble album. Shown here because it features some 300 pieces of rock n’ roll ephemera from Mick Jones’ (of The Clash) collection. Currently the material is being shown in London at the Chelsea Space. You can check it there until April 18, 2009. (via CR).

A few months back Jeff posted the trailer for Objectified, a film exploring our complex interaction with manufactured things and the people that design and make them. The poster for the film is designed by Build, who’ve hidden the logo among some iconic objects. Here’s a hint, check the sixth row. (via Today and Tomorrow).

Look for it after the jump.